Coal outgrows hydropower
As Cambodia’s demand for electricity grows and domestic energy production increases, new data released from the Ministry of Mines and Energy on October 10 show that coal-fired energy generation surpassed hydroelectricity for the first time last year. According to the Cambodia National Energy Statistics 2016, a joint publication issued by the Ministry of Mines and Energy and The Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia – a regional think tank – coal-fired power generation eclipsed hydroelectricity as the dominant source for the Kingdom’s domestic energy supply. Fuelled by two coal-fired plants, the CIIDG Erdos Hongjun Electric Power 270-megawatt facility, which is co-owned by Cambodian People’s Party Senator Lao Meng Khin, and the neighbouring 100-megawatt plant owned by Malaysia’s Leader Universal Holdings in Preah Sihanouk province, coal produced a total of 2,376 gigawatt hours last year. This is nearly a three-fold increase from the 863 gigawatt hours produced in 2014.
